International community must work collectively to safeguard critical sea lanes: India tells UNSC
India's Permanent Representative to the UN addressed a UN Security Council open debate titled "Food Under Fire: The Security Council's Role in Mitigating Global and Local Food Crises," held on 26 August 2026
The statement identified food insecurity as one of the gravest humanitarian consequences of armed conflict, noting that today's conflicts generate ripple effects far beyond the immediate theatre of hostilities
Disruptions to energy markets, fertiliser supplies, maritime transport, humanitarian logistics and agricultural trade were flagged as channels through which regional conflicts threaten global food security
The Council was urged to ensure that sanctions measures do not inadvertently impede humanitarian assistance or legitimate food and agricultural trade
India stated that food insecurity is a consequence of conflict, political instability and underdevelopment, not their root cause, and cited its own food security framework as an example of building resilience
UN Security Council — Composition and India's Engagement
The UN Security Council has 15 members: 5 permanent members (China, France, Russia, UK, US) with veto power, and 10 non-permanent members elected by the UN General Assembly for two-year terms on a regional-rotation basis. India has served eight non-permanent terms (most recently 2021-22) and does not currently hold a Council seat.
Key Details
- Non-permanent members are elected by a two-thirds majority of the UN General Assembly
- India's past non-permanent terms: 1950-51, 1967-68, 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1991-92, 2011-12, 2021-22
- India is campaigning for a non-permanent seat for the 2028-29 term (elections in June 2027) under the "SHANTI" (Securing Holistic Advancement through Norms, Trust and Integrity) campaign, alongside its long-standing push for permanent membership and UNSC reform via the G4 (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan)
- As a non-Council member, India participates in open debates such as this one only by special invitation, not as a voting member
India's intervention at this open debate was made as an invited non-Council member, underscoring why its statement focuses on norm-setting and policy advocacy (sanctions design, humanitarian exemptions) rather than any voting position.
UNSC Sanctions Regimes and the Humanitarian Exemption (Resolution 2664)
UN sanctions regimes typically freeze the assets of designated individuals/entities to pressure compliance, but blanket asset freezes can inadvertently block humanitarian aid delivery. Resolution 2664 (2022) created a standing humanitarian exemption across all UN sanctions regimes, permitting funds and goods necessary for humanitarian assistance and basic human needs to flow without violating the freeze.
Key Details
- Resolution 2664 was adopted in December 2022 by a vote of 14 in favour with India abstaining
- The exemption applies to the UN, international organisations, and humanitarian NGOs delivering aid, and requires reasonable efforts to minimise benefits reaching sanctioned entities
- For the ISIL/Al-Qaida sanctions regime specifically, the exemption was time-bound to a two-year review period
- India's abstention reflected concerns that a blanket, indefinite carve-out could be misused, even while supporting the underlying humanitarian objective
India's call for the Council to ensure sanctions "do not inadvertently impede humanitarian assistance or legitimate food and agricultural trade" directly echoes the policy debate that produced Resolution 2664, making this a live precedent for how the Council balances sanctions enforcement against humanitarian access.
India's Domestic Food Security Framework — NFSA and PM-KISAN
India cited its own experience of remaining food-secure and a net contributor to global food supply despite external shocks. This rests on two pillars: the legal right to subsidised foodgrain under the National Food Security Act, 2013, and direct income support to farmers under PM-KISAN.
Key Details
- The National Food Security Act, 2013 legally entitles up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population (about two-thirds of India's population) to subsidised foodgrain through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)
- PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi), launched in February 2019, provides ₹6,000 per year in three instalments to landholding farmer families, and reaches over 110 million households
- These schemes represent India's institutional buffer against the same conflict-driven disruptions (fertiliser, fuel, freight cost spikes) that the UNSC debate addressed
By pointing to its domestic food security architecture, India framed national-level resilience (rather than only international humanitarian response) as the durable answer to conflict-driven food shocks — a recurring theme in India's multilateral food security diplomacy.
- UNSC open debate "Food Under Fire": held 26 August 2026
- UNSC composition: 15 members — 5 permanent (veto-holding) + 10 non-permanent (2-year terms)
- India's non-permanent UNSC terms: 8 total, most recent 2021-22; next election bid for 2028-29 term in June 2027
- Resolution 2664 (2022) — humanitarian exemption to UN sanctions asset freezes; adopted 14-0, India abstained
- National Food Security Act, 2013 — covers ~67% of India's population (75% rural, 50% urban) under TPDS
- PM-KISAN — ₹6,000/year to farmer households, launched February 2019, over 110 million beneficiary households
- Geopolitical chokepoints cited by the UN Secretary-General as facing shipping disruption: Black Sea, Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea